Pay packet review for call centre workers

Telemarketers who worked in call centres across Australia will have their pay
packets reviewed as part of an audit by two national companies of their labor
engagement practices.

The workers were initially engaged as independent contractors, but the Fair
Work Ombudsman formed the view they were misclassified, and should have been
engaged as employees under workplace laws.

Telco Services Australia Pty Ltd (TSA) and Trimatic Contract Services Pty Ltd
(TCS) are now in the process of changing their practices, so that the relevant
call centre workers will be employees and not independent contractors.

The companies have also agreed to self-audit their records to determine if
any workers who performed sales and marketing work between July, 2012 and June,
2013 were underpaid as a result of misclassification - and to voluntarily
reimburse any outstanding entitlements they may find.

Further, a telephone hotline and email address have been established to deal
specifically with any new complaints from workers engaged by the companies about
their entitlements.

Both companies, and directors Peter William Jones and Timothy Mark Ungar,
have entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman as an
alternative to litigation.

The Fair Work Ombudsman first investigated TSA and TCS in 2009 after
receiving complaints.

TSA and TCS, together with a number of other companies, form part of the TSA
Telco Group, which is a national provider of outsourced sales and sales support
to third party businesses.

As part of their investigation, Fair Work inspectors made simultaneous,
unannounced inspections of call centres in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney
and Adelaide.

In April, 2011, the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced litigation in the Federal
Court in Melbourne alleging sham contracting activity.

It later withdrew legal proceedings following TSA and TCS changing their
business model for engagement of workers and the agreement by both companies to
make other commitments in an Enforceable Undertaking on future compliance with
federal workplace laws.

Since 2004, Telco Services Australia has been contracted by a national
telecommunications provider to deliver direct marketing and sales services.

It operates call centres in Western Australia, Victoria, NSW, the Northern
Territory, Queensland and South Australia to market its products and services.

Details of the Enforceable Undertaking have been
posted on the TSA Telco Group website and on noticeboards in each workplace, as
well as the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website at www.fairwork.gov.au

The Enforceable Undertaking requires TSA and TCS to:

Complete the process of engaging call centre staff performing work related
to the national telecommunications provider contract as employees and provide
evidence to the Fair Work Ombudsman,

Develop processes to ensure ongoing compliance with workplace laws and
provide details to the Fair Work Ombudsman, and

Promptly assess and respond to any new complaints lodged with the Fair Work
Ombudsman.

Back-payment to two complainants who were involved in the Fair Work Ombudsman
litigation was also required.

Any other workers found to have been underpaid during the self-audit must be
reimbursed and the companies are required to take “reasonable steps” to locate
former workers no longer with the companies.

Any money owed to workers who cannot be located will be paid to the Fair Work
Ombudsman and held in trust.

Enforceable Undertakings were introduced by legislation in 2009 and the Fair
Work Ombudsman has been using them to achieve strong compliance outcomes against
companies that allegedly breach workplace laws.

"Their purpose is to focus the employer on the tasks to be carried out to
remedy the alleged contravention and/or prevent a similar contravention in the
future," says Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said.

"Many of the initiatives included in Enforceable Undertakings - like
compulsory training sessions - help to build a greater understanding of
workplace responsibilities."

Ms James says it is vital that employers ensure workers are classified
correctly because if they are incorrectly classified as independent contractors
they can miss out on important employee entitlements and protections, such as
minimum rates of pay and leave entitlements.

Employers and employees seeking assistance should
visit www.fairwork.gov.au or contact the Fair Work Infoline on
13 13 94. A free interpreter service is available by calling on 13 14 50.

The Fair Work Ombudsman is committed to providing advice that you can rely on. The information contained on this website is general in nature. If you are unsure about how it applies to your situation you can call our Infoline on 13 13 94 or speak with a union, industry association or workplace relations professional. Visitors are warned that this site may inadvertently contain names or pictures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have recently died.